State of the Server Address
First a bit on myself. In 2009, one week after my honeymoon, I got in a car wreck. I hyper-extended my neck as much as I could have without breaking it. At the time I was the Multimedia Director for a local non-profit. I loved my job, but didn't care for the people, but couldn't work regardless. Savings dwindling my wife and I packed up and moved from Arkansas to Idaho. From there, head hanging on a string attached to my shoulders, I struggled to find work. Who would hire a guy who has to lay down every half hour and put ice on his neck? So, with my PC right next to the bed, I decided to fall back on the disciplines I knew. I reached out with a few under-the-table graphic-design jobs.
That was 2009, and I am a gamer-nerd. In the meantime we have had several iterations of the server I've had the doors open since beta when multiplayer was a piece of crap. I find that when I play Minecraft it's all or nothing. I play for hours and days on end. It let it consume me.
Now that it's 2013 I am in a lucrative position in my local community, founding my own graphic design firm, and can't let Minecraft consume me like I'd like it to. So, yes, in essence, I have stepped away...
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I never really thought about a hierarchy among mods. But if there was one it'd be based on seniority. Dan has been with me the longest and seen the MOST iterations we've gone through.
(In order of seniority) Dan, Chennie, Short, Baker, MiC, Doc.
Earth, Wind, Fire, Water, Heart, and Puppies. With their powers combined, they can summon me
Chennie, Short, and Baker aren't around much (to the best of my knowledge); but I don't feel like asking them to step down either. They are fine folks and I haven't questioned the reasons I asked them to take up the mantle of Mod.
Doc and MiC are the most tech savy, and Dan I feel knows me best, my moods, my trends, and how I would adjudicate things if I were around.
I don't feel like I am picking on Dan when I point out that he is our resident grey-beard. He doesn't type as fast as he used to, and he may not be as knowledgeable about all these mods, but he does deserve a modicum of reverence. As with all mods, talking over him may get you kicked (put in time out), no one likes a know it all, and he is humble enough to state when he does NOT know something.
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As for all this talk of moving packs. It's not going to happen. Until we have open discussion on the merits of going to another pack, and that report is vetted, compiled, and on my desk; there is no need for me to consider it.
As far as a reset. It's coming. We used to have a shining Mother-ship in the sky. A place where we build a city and people had neighbors. The plots were limited, and the spaces not as large as they could be, but we worked together to forge a "Great Works". When it was built and christened we made frequent JUMPS to new worlds. This pack makes that a little harder, but I would like to see people closer together again. It'd be nice to have a TOWN, and everything beyond it be about outposts and incursions into the wilderness. When we go to the TOWN format, and even IF it hasn't done anything to impress me yet (I am still waiting) I Will grant us all access to Xycraft.
The reset will happen when the mod-pack goes to 1.5. That may be tomorrow (unlikely), or be MONTHS from now. There was a time when we were restarting every two weeks. Sometimes we restarted every month. This has been the longest we have gone without one. A new world, new terrain, new boundaries, can be an exciting time to make new considerations on what to build and how.
MiC, the hour is nigh; as I listen to "Moonlight Sonata", I feel it is time we mark a place and build that arena. "Make it so Number-2."
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TLDR: I've stepped away. Dan is in charge. We're not changing packs. We will wipe the world when 1.5 gets here. Yes you will get XyCraft. MiC, plan and have them build a massive arena.